


It's the End, Baby

by aroseintheimpala



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Croatoan/Endverse, Depression, Drug Use, Endverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-10 07:15:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1156676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroseintheimpala/pseuds/aroseintheimpala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a headcanon inspired by the episode The End.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's the End, Baby

**Author's Note:**

> I've considered turning this into a series, but for now, this is it. I've posted my Endverse playlist at the end of this fic. It's what I was listening to when I wrote this one-shot!

The first time Dean stayed the night with Cas was an accident. 

In the early days of Camp Chitaqua, there was a lot of distrust. Before Chuck came wandering in, Dean literally didn’t know anyone there besides Cas. Consequentially, they stuck together a lot. However, it didn’t take long for Dean to become the unspoken leader of the camp with Cas as his second in command. Considering the camp was primarily made up of hunters in the beginning, it was pretty much inevitable. Regardless of whether he knew any of them, everyone had heard of Dean Winchester. The newcomers learned not to question the chain of command.

The Croatoan virus was spreading far and fast. In one year’s time, nearly half the planet had been infected. The angels were gone. For all of their threats and grand gestures, none of them actually seemed interested in sticking around while the world went up in flames. After Sam said yes and Dean said no, they checked out. Sealed the gates of Heaven and locked the door behind them. Cas lost his angelic powers soon after. 

Cas was new to being human, but he wasn’t new to the world of war and strategy. He was one of Heaven’s warriors, after all. That’s how he found himself sitting at an old wooden table in a run-down cabin with Dean night after night as they debated how to handle whatever issue was at hand. The water supply was running low due to the hoard of Croats camped out down the river. There was never enough food. People needed clothes, toilet paper, blankets, and the list never seemed to end. There was never enough of anything. Most of all, they needed to track down Lucifer. Dean was like a loose cannon most days. Cas had told him when this all started that their best bet was to find the Colt, as his sources said that it was still out there somewhere. He almost regretted doing that on the really bad nights. Dean worked himself into a frenzy searching for the damn thing. Every time they had gotten a lead, it turned out to be a decoy. Cas watched as Dean slowly lost himself to the cause.

On one particular bad night, Cas came back from getting food for both of them and found Dean sitting in the same spot he had occupied for the last four hours at least. Only now he wasn’t staring dutifully at the maps in disarray in front of him. He was leaning against the table with his face buried in his hands. Cas would have thought he had fallen asleep if it weren’t for the way his shoulders were shaking. He frowned as a wave of compassion rushed over him. Slowly, as if approaching a wounded animal, he set the food on the table and placed his hands on Dean’s tense shoulders. He began to massage them lightly, knuckles kneading the tight knots. The gesture broke Dean completely. He took in a ragged breath and collapsed against the table as the sobs racked his body. Cas patiently waited him out while continuing to rub the spot between his shoulder blades. 

“Come here,” Cas said after he had calmed a little. “Let’s go back to my cabin and eat. You need a break for tonight.”

It was a testament to how worn down Dean was that he agreed. He stood, still sniffling, and looked Cas in the eyes. The dark shadows and bright red veins surrounding his once bright green irises spoke clearly enough about the state he was in. Cas patted him on the shoulder and grabbed both of their plates as Dean shuffled behind him. Their cabins were close to the one they used as an office of sorts. It was more convenient that way when they were up late working. Of course, neither of them mentioned it, but it was also nice knowing that the other was so close. 

A few people looked up as they silently walked across the camp. The rumors about them had been circulating since day one. It was to be expected considering the amount of time they spent together. They had always been close, but the loss of Sam and then Bobby had forged their bond so completely that one functioned as an extension of the other; as vital as oxygen. Neither of them ever acknowledged the rumors. All things considered, it wasn’t exactly the highest priority on either of their lists. 

Cas stood back and let Dean lead the way into the cabin, closing the door behind them. They took their plates straight to the dark blue couch and dropped into the cushions side by side. The couch wasn’t made of memory foam, but it still knew them. It had adjusted to their tired forms after many nights of collapsing there after a long day. When things were going relatively well, they spent their evenings marathoning television shows in Dean’s living room with Dean good-naturedly explaining all of the references that went over Cas’s head. However, they usually found themselves in Cas’s cabin when things weren’t going well. There was no television and no distractions. Cas kept a collection of old books on a small shelf along the wall where a tv stand would usually be. Some of them were his favorites, but others he kept because he knew Dean liked them. Sometimes Dean would just walk in unannounced and pick up The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake or Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut and would be lost in his own little sanctuary for hours. Cas never mentioned it, but he kept them there because he knew Dean found some comfort in their yellowed pages. This wasn’t a reading night though.

They ate in relative silence. The only noise was their forks scraping against the ceramic plates to scoop up the pile of rice and chicken. After they finished, Dean didn’t get up to leave. He just stared. Cas followed his gaze to see what had caught his attention, but there was nothing there. Just the monsters inside his head. He hesitantly placed an arm around Dean’s shoulders and sighed in relief when Dean relaxed into his touch. He slid his arm down until it was wrapped around his waist. There was nothing sexual about the gesture. It was intimate and something they usually didn’t do, but it didn’t feel strange or unwelcome. Dean still sat with his gaze fixed straight ahead. Cas took another risk and pulled on Dean’s torso lightly. Dean allowed himself to be guided down until he was curled completely into Cas’s side. It was then that he seemed to wake up from his trance and buried his face in Cas’s neck. Cas repositioned himself so that he had both arms wrapped around Dean, and they stayed like that. After only a few minutes, exhaustion took over Dean’s body and he fell asleep. Cas knew he should probably wake him so that he could go back to his own cabin, but he really didn’t want to disturb the rare peace that was displayed on his face. So he didn’t. He held him for awhile and let himself be soothed by the slow rise and fall of Dean’s chest. Then he eased himself out from under him and placed a pillow and blanket from his own bed on the couch so that it became a makeshift bed. Cas marvelled at the softness that had taken over Dean’s features in sleep. He slowly traced his fingers over his forehead, brushing back the hair that had gotten considerably long and was falling into his eyes. Then he went to his own room and fell asleep almost instantly. Dean was gone when he woke in the morning, but he did seem more rested the next day when he gave Cas a small, grateful smile at breakfast. It was a small step for them, but when they looked back, that night was the shift that began both the best and the worst thing that ever happened to either of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Playlist:
> 
> Disengage by Sleeperstar  
> Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons  
> Let Her Go by Passenger  
> Demons by Imagine Dragons  
> Syndicate by The Fray  
> Start a Fire by Ryan Star  
> Alone Together by Fall Out Boy  
> Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy, Foxes  
> Used To by Daughtry  
> Crawling Back to You by Daughtry  
> Fix You by Coldplay  
> The Scientist by Coldplay  
> Unwell by Matchbox Twenty  
> Halfway Gone by Lifehouse  
> 45 by Shinedown  
> I Run to You by Lady Antebellum  
> Need You Now by Lady Antebellum  
> Hard to Love by Lee Brice  
> Stay by Florida Georgia Line


End file.
